Don't Miss This Amazing Opportunity

Appening Rhondda is a collaborative approach between schools, charities and private businesses to foster IT development skills in Rhondda young people.

It was created from the partnership working of Stronger Rhondda, an initiative to bring people and groups in the Rhondda Valleys together to answer local needs. The project was established to address the growing concern that many students are not being challenged in technology development. We found many young people with naturally developed skills in coding and design lacked the opportunity to explore those interests before moving on to 6th form, college or the world of work.

How does it work?

A group of 5 young people come together for a full week to allow them an opportunity to work under the mentorship of professional app developers and create an app from start to finish.

An Appening Rhondda development week consists of:

Day 1 – Meet the client and prepare development brief
Day 2 – Begin building the app based on the brief
Day 3 – Really get into the coding of the app
Day 4 – Finishing the app development and testing
Day 5 – Prepare marketing materials for the app

I loved learning how to create my own app and how to market it. We met with the client and got to see what it would be like when I am older. It was great working with professional developers and being treated like an adult. This week has given me knowledge of what I want to do in the future.

Year 10 Student

Tonypandy College

An amazing experience, professional, informative with a wide range of learning opportunities. The Appening Rhondda week completely surpassed my expectations. All schools should have the opportunity to experience this.

Jacqui Jones

Tonypandy College

Brush It - Kids Dental Care

Daily tooth brushing with fluoride toothpaste is an effective means of helping to prevent tooth decay, but for many children cleaning their teeth or having their teeth cleaned does not form part of their daily routine. The students of Ferndale Community School have developed the Brush It App to help children practice the proper teeth brushing technique. We should all be brushing our teeth for 2 minutes at least twice a day using a fluoride toothpaste.

Developed in partnership with Little Ferns Partnership

Developers:

Keetran Bull
Ethan Bull
Nathan Oliver
Lingkuin Chen
Daniel Hall

Politically Correct App

The Politically Correct App helps explain where the laws, which affect all our lives, are made. Before we can challenge our governments and elected representatives to deliver the services we feel are important, we need to know who these people are and what they have influence over.

The Politically Correct App aims to outline whom is responsible for the laws that govern our lives and point you in the right direction to make sure your voice is heard by the people making those decisions.

The app was developed to support the ‘Not’ the Usual Suspects project run by the Boys’ and Girls’ Clubs of Wales.

Developed by students from Treorchy Comprehensive, the app’s aim is to raise awareness about where our laws are made and help illustrate the roles different tiers of government play. Then, once you know which tier of government is responsible for the issues you care the most about, you can take action by making your voice heard by voting or starting a petition.

SitFit - Armchair Exercises

SitFit lets you exercise from the comfort of your own chair. If you are unable to stand for very long, these short exercises are for you. SitFit gives you a free preview of the Team Pink armchair exercise DVD. Not everybody can do sit ups, bench presses, weight lifting, etc. Thankfully, with the help of Team Pink, there is now a way to work out via a simple, easy to perform, 3 step exercise programme. These routines are designed to allow people who can’t stand up for long or may have difficulty with full body workouts such as the elderly. You can work at your own pace, and in your armchair (or kitchen chair, we don’t mind). Even if you can do full body workouts, there may be times where you’re stuck at an office desk, or on a long plane journey, these videos allow you to get your triceps and biceps warmed up. You can comfortably work out and keep your body healthy and fit no matter where you are.

Developers:
Samuel Lewis
Joseph Davies
Jakub Kupcik
Jackson Griffiths

Charities

Maybe we can develop an App for you

GTFM - Pontypridd Radio

Working with GTFM Community Radio in Pontypridd, students from Ysgol Gyfun Cymer in Porth created the GTFM Radio App.

The app was developed to improve access to the award-winning broadcasts from GTFM Radio. The South Wales Valleys offer geographical challenges for radio signals, meaning the FM signal transmitted from Pontypridd doesn’t reliably reach all the areas of Rhondda Cynon Taf. With the GTFM app, you are never out of touch with the best in community radio. You’re just one click away from local news and good time music direct from the heart of Rhondda Cynon Taff.

GTFM is the top radio listening choice of local residents and is an independent non profit station which is also a registered charity. GTFM was established in 1999 by local residents in Pontypridd, as a community project working with local radio enthusiasts.

More Than Just Code

Appening Rhondda was devised as an opportunity for young enthusiastic technology creators in the Rhondda to create real solutions for their communities while working alongside professional developers to create mobile apps for charity sector clients.

Since it was launched last year, Appening Rhondda allows young people to spend a week working with a team of designers and developers to create a real mobile app which is released for free to download. They get to be part of the process from start to finish including meeting the client, preparing a development brief, building the app and finally marketing the app. This approach allows the students to understand the full life-cycle of developing a mobile app.